UKIP councillor sacked over ‘negro’ comments

A councillor for Britain’s UK Independence Party (UKIP) has been filmed saying she had a problem with “negroes” and would not sit next to one at a dinner party – a new embarrassment for the populist party before a national election in May.

Rozanne Duncan was expelled from UKIP after it learned of the remarks, made in a BBC documentary which was aired on Sunday (22 February).

But the incident will reinforce the perception that UKIP, which is against the EU, and wants curbs on immigration, is racist and bigoted.

Duncan was a UKIP councillor in Thanet, southeast England, where party leader Nigel Farage hopes to win a seat in parliament in the election on 7 May.

“The only people I do have problems with are negroes and I don’t know why,” Duncan said in footage filmed late last year.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=34LdMrMr9r8

“I don’t know whether there is something in my psyche or whether it is karma from a previous life…but I really do have a problem with people with negroid features.”

Duncan goes on to say she would decline an invite to a dinner party if she was to sit next to a black person.

Farage condemned Duncan’s comments and said she has been expelled by the party.

“What was said was wholly inappropriate, at odds with what UKIP stands for and we just don’t tolerate that kind of thing,” Farage told the BBC.

Prime Minister David Cameron once sought to dismiss the party as full of “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists”, but its rise in popularity now threatens his Conservative Party’s chances of being re-elected.

Background

The Conservative UK Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would try to curb EU immigration if re-elected in a May 2015 general election.

In a major speech made last November, Cameron said the EU should change its rules on immigration, warning he would “rule nothing out" if Britain's concerns fall on deaf ears, meaning that the UK would consider leaving the Union.

Cameron has promised to try to reshape Britain's EU ties before holding a referendum on the country's EU membership by 2017 if he wins next year's election.

Cameron's promise was made under growing pressure from the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) and from some of his own Eurosceptic backbench lawmakers.

Eurosceptics want to stop what they regard as welfare abuse by poor immigrants from eastern Europe with no jobs and no social coverage, who are putting pressure on local services, such as health and housing.

Critics accuse him of exaggerating the problem to curry favour with voters who might turn to UKIP.

Cameron's bid to cap immigration has provoked warnings from the European Commission, which regards freedom of movement as sacrosanct.

In a study published last year, the Commission found little evidence of "benefits tourism" happening in Europe.

In most countries, EU migrants represent less than 5% of welfare beneficiaries and these migrants make an overall net contribution to the finances of their host countries because they pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits, the study found.

Watch the BBC documentary. The remarks by the woman in question were shocking but it was notable that the UKIP members she was speaking to were embarrassed by her and disagreed with her.

I was also struck by the contrast between UKIP, who seem committed to parliamentary democracy and free speech and their left-wing opponents who seem to prefer shouting and intimidation.

The third thing I noticed was the story about the wages of local painters and decorators being driven down by Bulgarian workers and the reluctance of the local paper to cover the story. The story has always to be about UKIP and racism. Both the Labour Party and the Conservatives seem desperate to stop Farage becoming an MP.

By all means refuse to vote UKIP if, like me, you are dubious about their policies (such as the nonsense about abolishing parking charges at hospitals). But don’t believe the propaganda about them being a racist party.

I largely agree with your comments and agree that UKIP are a bit policy light at the moment. However, I believe that the electorates disenchantment with the main parties, will result in in a large UKIP protest vote. I believe that a large portion of the electorate want to give the main parties a kicking. You are already seeing the result of that in Scotland, where Labour took their majority for granted and in danger of losing many MP’s to the SNP.

I am unsure about your doubts about free NHS parking (other than financial). That has already been done in Scotland. I think the only two hospitals to still charge are the newish Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the multi storey car park for the Royal Infirmary, Glasgow. These were built under PFI and the government is unable to do anything with the contract because of cost.

Quote from Guardian article. Sked founded UKIP – the “two men” are Sked and Farage
“Sked laughs at the question and recalls an incident from 1997 when the two men were arguing over the kind of candidates that Ukip should have standing at the looming general election. “He (Farage) wanted ex-National Front candidates to run and I said, ‘I’m not sure about that,’ and he (Farage) said, ‘There’s no need to worry about the nigger vote. The nig-nogs will never vote for us.'”
Given the article – perhaps it is time that the Kippers got rid of Nige’ “Nigger” Farage?

@GeorgeMc
partly my concern is with the loss of revenue as they are being deprived of a lot of money. However, I had in mind my local hospital where even with parking charges it is very difficult to find somewhere to park. Without charges it would be impossible.

@Mike Parr
Perhaps but somewhere between 1997 and 2014 Farage has decided that being thought racist is the kiss of death electorally so he has modified his language. But you are making my point, instead of a reasoned explanation as to why UKIP is “racist” we get the same anecdotes endlessly recycled.
A serious discussion would draw a clear line between the old National Front, the British National Party on the one hand and UKIP on the other. The NF and the BNP had an ethnic view of citizenship whereby you could only be British if you were ethnically British “there is no black in the Union Jack”. etc. UKIP’s view of citizenship is mainstream.

Moreover, given that the commonality of Europe is that we are the heirs of white Christendom in opposition to the Islamic turk and that we support Athens in opposition to the Persian hordes, it could be argued that UKIP in opposing the EU is the less racist. As Nigel Farage points out our membership of the EU means that we have one set of immigration rules for (mainly white skinned ) Europeans and another set for (mainly darker skinned) Indians.